Potter's War
by loralee1
Summary: Post Ootp, No HBP, Ficlet, A historical look at the final battle. No pairing.


Potter's War

By Loralee

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter not me.

_Historians agree that with out the midnight attack on the massing army of the Dark Lord Voldemort, before the invasion of Hogwarts, Voldemort's forces would have overwhelmed and defeated those of Albus Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix. This defeat would have spelled the end of the fight against the Dark Lord and Britain would have been lost. Instead Harry Potter defied Dumbledore and left the safety of Hogwarts to launch a daring attack._

_Excerpt 'History of the Voldemort Years'_

Neville Longbottom sat in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. He wasn't sure he could eat. He could feel the Headmasters eyes on him. Neville wondered how Harry could stand it. He knew he dared not look at the head table. Harry had told him Dumbledore could read his mind. He almost wished he were out on a broom with Harry instead of sitting here wearing Harry's face. It had to be done however. He was happy that Harry trusted this to him. Neville glanced across the table at Ron and Hermione, she was reminding the almost vibrating Ron to eat. Neville wondered at the choice of Dennis Creevey but sighed with the knowledge that no one cared if he or Dennis for that matter missed dinner but the Staff would have been up in arms and the Slytherins suspicious if Ron or Harry missed Dinner. Neville glanced at his watch as Dumbledore stood to dismiss them. Harry had enough time. He was well away from the castle, far beyond the recall of Dumbledore. Neville allowed his eyes to drift over the Staff table. He knew they all were aware that Voldemort would be attacking them tomorrow. He was incensed that Dumbledore would take a chance on the student's lives like this. Dumbledore had forbidden the DA from taking part in the battle. He's gone so far as to tell Harry that he would not be allowed to face Voldemort, that he wasn't ready. Students around Neville were standing as he made eye contact with Dumbledore. The old man paled and clutched the table and Neville smirked with Harry's mouth.

_Albus Dumbledore's spy Severus Snape reported that Voldemort's forces numbered 150 Death Eaters, 40 to 50 trolls, 25 to 30 werewolves and 10 vampires. Dumbledore believed that he could defend the castle with the ancient wards, Staff, Order of Phoenix members and Aurors promised to him by Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. Snape's information was wrong._

_Excerpt 'History of the Voldemort Years'_

Harry Potter and his companions drifted across the wards and over Voldemort's encampment. The wards would detect anyone crossing them at ground level and anything moving at high velocity in the air. However they could not detect the drifting brooms. Harry was disillusioned and wearing night vision goggles specially enchanted by Hermione. Harry shook his head at the numbers he could see on the ground. There were at least 70 trolls drinking around several small fires. Several dozen vampires could be seen patrolling the perimeter of the camp. Hundreds of blanket-covered lumps slept in anticipation of the dawn attack. There were many more enemies there than Snape had led them to believe. Harry had warned Dumbledore not to believe Snape.

Harry shook his head and dug into the bags carried on the broom. He flew only 10 or 15 feet above the sleeping Death Eaters dropping the pea sized pebbles and seedpods onto the figures below. He needed to work fast as the time-release spells would trigger the transformations in 45 minutes or so. Nearby the Weasleys, Bill, Fred, George and Ron were also dropping the specialized 'pranks'.

While Dumbledore had admitted the twins to the Order he had not take them seriously on their offer to create 'weapons of mass destruction' and had marginalized their efforts. Harry had no such problems. Harry had four bags designed to hold a much larger quantity than was apparent. When all but the last bag was empty Harry flew higher and began to empty the last bag into the air. The fine silver dust diffused into the air and filtered down into the entire encampment. It would have no effect on the humans or trolls and would not be directly lethal on the werewolves or vampires but if they breathed it in they would be in no shape to fight the next day.

The Weasley boys had strict instructions to drift out of the wards and get well away before the spells were released therefore the hovering Harry Potter was the only witness to what they had been calling the Marauder Mass Destruction Weapons.

At precisely 1AM the first timer charms went off releasing the stasis charm on some of the transfigured pea sized pebbles retuning them to their original forms, hundreds of poisonous spiders and scorpions. Unfortunately they had only been able to acquire three lethifolds. Shortly there after the seedpods were released and the fast growing poisonous vines and thorn brambles were released. It would be another fifteen minutes before a reaction would be seen. A patrolling vampire noticed the vines and began to wake the camp. Chaos erupted when a Death Eater began screaming as he realized a Lethifold was devouring the man next to him. As Voldemort's men began to stomp into their boots to meet this emergency they began to discover little friends.

At 1:30 the third and last batch of stasis charms were released. Portable swamps, exotic and dangerous creatures, fireworks and loud sirens added to the confusion. A newly recruited Death Eater believed that they were being attacked and began to shoot off killing curses. Within minutes Voldemort's forces were slaughtering each other.

_Survivors told that when Voldemort arrived in the predawn hours to lead his massive army to Hogwarts he found less that half the original numbers alive. A third of those left would not be able to fight that day. Voldemort refused to retreat and regroup and ordered the attack anyway._

_It is believed that Voldemort could have won the day even with his reduced forces since Minister Fudge refused to send the Auror forces he had promised to Dumbledore, if not for the battalion of Goblins that, at the request of Harry Potter, attacked the invading force from the rear. Ministry forces led by Amelia Bones after the arrest of Cornelius Fudge arrived only in time to see the final confrontation between Voldemort and Harry Potter._

_Excerpt 'History of the Voldemort Years'_

In the early morning hours just before dawn Dumbledore locked down the dorm rooms in each house from his office. When the alarms rang alerting the Hogwarts Staff that Voldemort was indeed attacking, Dumbledore was satisfied that the students he had resisted evacuating were safe and secure in their dorms and hoped that the conflict would be resolved before the students even woke up. However the members of Harry Potter's DA were not in their respective dorms, they were instead in the room of requirement under the leadership of Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger.

_When questioned in the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts Minerva McGonagall could give no logical reasons for Dumbledore's inexplicable refusal to evacuate the students. If Voldemort's forces had won he would have been able to slaughter the students in their beds. Further testimony showed that Dumbledore believed that he could hold the Wards and prevent Voldemort's forces from entering the grounds while Auror forces and the Order of the Phoenix were to attack from outside the wards. With the Auror's failure to show Voldemort would have decimated the Order with out the arrival of Harry Potter and the Goblin Blood Battalion led by Ironfist Trollkiller. Dumbledore's death from heart failure induced by the strain of holding the Wards allowed free entrance to the Death Eaters until the Wards searched out and reconnected with the Heir of Gryffindor, Neville Longbottom. The disruption in the Wards allowed a fraction of Voldemort's forces led by Bellatrix Lestrange onto the grounds._

_Excerpt 'History of the Voldemort Years'_

Pain unlike anything he'd ever felt reverberated thought Neville's head. He collapsed in a heap on the floor of the entryway. Distantly he could hear screaming and shouting. Colors and sounds exploded in his head and then he heard a voice. It came from all around him and inside him at the same time. **'I have found you. We are one.'**

Neville shook his head and looked around. He could feel power thrumming though him and could hear and see the chaos surrounding him. **'The old one is gone. There is evil within.'**

"Wha?" he asked.

"Neville, are you all right? What happened?" asked Hermione.

"There are Death Eater coming this way!" someone shouted.

"Dumbledore's dead!" someone else screamed.

"The wards, I don't have them, they must have collapsed!" yelled McGonagall.

**'You are my heir, the old one could not hear me, I will keep the rest of the evil ones out. Feel me, use me.' **

Neville stumbled toward the entrance door and gazed out at the approaching Death Eaters. He recognized the Lestranges and the buzzing of power grew unbearable.

"PLACES!" he roared, "FIRE!" Neville lifted his wand and pointed it at Bellatrix. "Reducto" The spell that shot out of his wand was huge and fast. With the DA firing behind him none of the Death Eaters made it to the door.

_With the Wards reestablished Voldemort's forces started to retreat toward the edge of the forest. Goblin warders had emplaced anti apparition and portkey wards over the battlefield upon their arrival. Unfortunately for Voldemort the Centaur herd that lived in the forbidden forest chose this time to come forward and cut off any retreat. Later Centaur Elder Magorian told Harry Potter. "The stars told us to come, to fight the evil ones. We did not fight for you. We fought for ourselves."_

_Excerpt 'History of the Voldemort Years'_

Amelia Bones was livid. She led the Auror forces up the road from Hogsmead toward Hogwarts at a dead run. Fudge, that incompetent asshole had prevented them from aiding Dumbledore. Well he was locked up now, with his toad like advisor. She topped the hill and stopped in shock. The wards around Hogwarts glowed blue in the early morning light and in front of them she could see two dueling figures. There were still several other individual duels going on but most of the combatants were watching Harry Potter duel with Voldemort. She watched in shock as Potter blasted Voldemort into the wards. Voldemort hung in the wards for a long moment convulsing as the wards pulsed. Then he flew off the wards straight towards Potter. Potter knocked Voldemort out of the air with his sword and then stabbed down impaling the body and pinning it to the ground. Voldemort's limbs twitched and the air surged with power as Potter spoke an incantation she quite couldn't hear. She could see the power arc through the space between Potter and Voldemort and with a clap of thunder the Dark Lord was no more. Potter sagged to his knees. Cheers rang through the air. An Auror somewhere behind her muttered, 'Damn, we missed the fight.'

_In the finale analysis students of History see that this victory by Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, was the turning point in our society. Harry Potter's defeat of the 'dark' sparked a revitalization of the Wizarding World and re-evaluation of Societal Mores._

_Excerpt 'History of the Voldemort Years'_


End file.
